Catchin' Up...?

Good grief!

 

I think my blogging is about lost and gone forever...!

Maybe not quite forever, but it seems like all I've done recently is post late "Story of my Life" posts!

But today I think I'll attempt to catch up.

A little bit...

 

First of all, Mister Trey Atlee...

Be still my heart!

This child is amazing! I am beyond thankful for him.

God definitely knew what we needed, even though we felt rather overwhelmed at the thought of a new little joining the ranks... we had finalized Scott and Quinn's adoption a month before we found out we were going to be blessed with an addition. And not only that, Little K and Baby JJ had came thru foster care only 2 weeks prior. Needless to say, we were rather overwhelmed.

But God used all this and worked things out for good.

Good isn't always easy and easy isn't always good, as was in this case, but now we are absolutely in awe of what God has done.

Trey is eating extremely well... at 2.5 weeks he'd already gained 2 pounds from his birth weight! He's doing well at night and is such a cutie! He's very laid back, it seems... and I'm quite thankful. :o) He likes best to be where the action is at and is rather attached to me, thinking I should hold him all day... which is where the baby carrier comes in quite handy!

 

This past weekend, Luke and I were incredibly blessed by an adoption/foster care conference held at a church not too far away. We had 3 main goals in going and we so blessed that all three not only were met, but we felt like were met above and beyond what our expectations were! We came away feeling refreshed, supported, like there is hope for some of the situations we were dealing with, and best of all- with new friends to stay connected with! If you're local or even near, I'd highly recommend this fantastic once a year weekend! Email me if you're interested in more information...

 

School is clicking right along... Riley is now reading, to his GREAT delight! He's been totally amazed he can sound out words on the cereal boxes, signs in town, the grocery store... pretty much everywhere we go. Scott is starting to enjoy his work (huge sigh of relief for me) and making some incredible progress! When I think that not even 2 years ago, at 4 years old he was not potty trained, had no concept of 1-2-3 or A-B-C and didn't even know his colors, it's pretty amazing that he knows all his numbers, letters, colors, most shapes, is cutting with scissors and has learned to color in the lines of pictures!! Quinn does not enjoy our school time, usually as it involves him sitting still for the Bible class we all do together (which only takes about 15 mins then he's free to go) but Halli LOVES school and coloring and dry erase boards and cutting and glue and all things of that sort... :o)

 

 

 

Of chickens and eggs:

We're now up to about 10 eggs a day! The children are planning to sell them and use the money they earn for a CAM or World Vision purchase. They've sold a few dozen now and are so pleased with the "cash" in the egg jar. We plan to do an egg delivery route every Monday on our choir day so as more and more of our chickens get their systems up 'n runnin', let us know if you'd like to be added to our egg route! Our eggs are collected every single day by the children and our chickens are fat and well fed... :o) We even have one (named Mrs. Houdini) that thinks she's a free ranger and gets out every.single.day!

 

 

We're currently facing a myriad of Doctor visits for little issues in children that have seemed to all pop up at once... guess that's how it seems to go, right? They include but are not limited to hearing issues, minor surgery, blood work, sleep testing/monitoring, arthritis issues and the normal dental and vision checks. I'm thinking I need to just hire a live-in Doctor to treat, examine and diagnose as needed!!

 

Hmmmm... what else?!

Oh, PUMPKINS! I LOVE pumpkin food and recently have been trying all kinds of recipes that involve the delectable, orange delicacy... Riley even opted for pumpkin pie instead of chocolate cake for his birthday!! Here have been some of our favorite recipes:

 

 

 

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

 

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup oil

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

2 cups chocolate chips

 

Mix wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 400* for 16-20 minutes.

Enjoy!!

(Recipe from my friend, Stephanie S.)

 

 

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE BARS

 

16 oz can pumpkin

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

 

Mix the pumpkin, sugar and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into a greased 10×15 inch baking pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

 

5 Tbs. butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tsp. milk

chopped nuts for the top, if desired

 

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and blend till smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the milk a bit at a time until you get it to a spreadable consistency.

(Recipe from Pinterest)

 

 

PUMPKIN PANCAKES

  

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

3 cups buttermilk

3 eggs

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar, combining well.

Add pumpkin, buttermilk, and eggs to dry ingredients and mix gently. {If batter seems stiff, add water until it can be easily spooned onto a griddle.}

Heat griddle to medium heat and grease lightly.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter onto griddle and let cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Let other side cook again until lightly browned.

Repeat these steps until all the batter is gone.

Perfect fall breakfast!!

(Recipe from Pinterest)

 

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Well... that oughta be a long enough blog post,

but I may as well stick in the last 2 weeks Story of my Life pics, right??

 

 

Games with Gramma R

Yum! Bourbon Street Chicken!! (Pinterest)

Still asleep at 8:45... lovely!!

Ugh, laundry needing put away. {{Sigh}}

First egg $$!!

 

I love that my beautiful baby likes to hold his mama's hand while he sleeps... :o)

Party-hat monster and his couch cushion fort!

Chubs himself! 2.5 weeks and +2 pounds!! 10lbs 4oz at that point!

Celebrating Ry's birthday with teriyaki and friends...

Leaf raking fun!

 

Well... hasta la vista! Have a great rest of the week!